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Vex Guardians!

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Infected by the Vex

I have destroyed myself to do this. They have taken my Ghost. They are in my blood and brain. But now there is hope. I have made a wound in the Vault. I have pierced it and let in the Light. Bathe in it, and be cleansed. Look to it, and understand: From my own Light and from the thinking flesh of the Vex I made a shield. The shield is your deliverance. It will break the unbreakable. It will change your fate. Bind yourself to the shield. Bind yourself to me. And if you abandon your purpose, let the Vault consume you, as it consumed me.

Welcome back guardians. Today we are talking about Vex Guardians, Guardians who have been transformed by the vex. This lore actually dates all the way back to 2 years ago, where Artificis_Vix made a reddit post about the liquid Vex, however it is still extremely relevant and with the release of the Vault of Glass ornaments that transform your limbs into Vex constructs and the new Eris Morn grimoire card, it is more interesting than ever.

As usual, the artwork at the beginning of the video was created by Brandon McCamey, if you would like to pick up any of his work, I have left a link in the description where you can find poster versions of everything.

This is myelin games and I hope you enjoy this latest destiny lore episode.

Before I explain how a guardian may be transformed by the Vex or maybe infected is a better word to use, I should first explain what the Vex are. One of the best pieces of information about the Vex actually comes from an early Planet Destiny podcast, episode 12 I believe. During this podcast they had a special appearance by Deej who said this;

“There are people who do the big pie in the sky thinking, like “What if there was a… a liquefied race of people that were contained in this walking form, this robotic form, and they all shared one mind and it was contained in this data milk,” you know.

This was a clear reference to the Vex being a liquid race and that the Vex are not the metallic robots that we see but in fact the milky white substance inside of them. Of course this sparked many to investigate the grimoire cards to find more evidence of the Vex being a liquid race. The Hobgoblin card was quickly noticed and reads,

“Specialized for sniping, this lean, tough Vex model is fitted with improved optics and acute sensors in its horns. Like the Goblin, the Hobgoblin contains a milky radiolarian fluid.”

So… Deej has mentioned this data milk and now we have a grimoire card refer to “milky radiolarian fluid.” The next logic decision is to then search the database for this milky fluid called “Radiolaria”, which returns an item of the same name. The Radiolaria item reads,

“Particles of Vex mind fluid. Potentially a source of insight into the Vex threat for your Vanguard mentor to study.”

So now we are pretty sure that the fluid inside the vex is called Radiolaria and is somehow connected with the minds of the Vex. Searching the database for more information about this mind fluid reveals an item called the Vex mind core. The description, reads,

“The mind core of a Cyclops is substantial and contains a fluid apparently central to Vex functionality.”

And also has another description which reads,

“A sample of Vex cognitive medium, a fluid apparently central to their functionality.”

So, we can now be quite confident that this milky radiolarian fluid at the center of the Vex, is what controls the Vex, it is the mind fluid, the cognitive medium central to function a.k.a the brain of the vex. There is no doubt in my mind that the vex are a liquid race.

But what exactly is Radiolaria. Well Radiolaria is a real word term and they are protozoa, which are unicellular organisms of .1-.2mm in diameter. So really small organisms. So I assume the milky fluid in the vex is not just one organism but many many organisms all together. The skeleton of radiolarian is made of Silica, Silica is the dioxide form of Silicon, occurring especially as quartz sand, flint, and agate: used usually in the form of its prepared white powder chiefly in the manufacture of glass, water glass, ceramics and abrasives.

Yes, I have no doubt that the Vault of Glass represents glass because the Vex are radiolaria, small unicellular organisms with a silica skeleton. Once again, all the credit for this theory needs to go to those reddit users two years ago.

SO I believe that the milky fluid is “programmed” by something/someone and then the fluid is inserted into the robotic bodies. This I believe is supported by the in-game dialogue during the Ishtar collective mission which describes how the Vex share one mind. It reads,

“Their mind cores are actually biological, not relative to any known life forms recorded. Maybe the Collective’s research can tell us more. These ruins predate humanity by a few billion years. Vex are coursing through them…. The Vex share one mind across a million units! That’s why they react so fast. Amazing, they can warp across star systems in an instant.”

I also believe the idea that the Vex are programmed at a central location and then inserted into the robotic bodies is supported by Game Informer’s coverage of Rise of Iron, specifically the comments they made about the Floating Gardens map. Essentially, they implied that the Floating Gardens was a location where the Vex would bring their robotic bodies to be recycled. The article reads,

“The Vex travel to the Floating Gardens where they recycle their vessel when it is no longer functional to them.”

So what does all of this have to do with Guardians being infected or transformed by the Vex… well I would argue that the liquefied nature of the Vex, and their small size, is one of the reasons to why they are so very contagious. Have a listen to the Vault of Glass armour.

Cuirass of the Hezen Lords reads,

“Slept in the armor last night. Woke to feel my heart stuttering to the pattern of an unknown signal.”

Prime Zealot Cuirass

Forged from the ruin of Hezen Vex armor. The sensory interface feels more natural than bare skin.

Gloves of the Hezen Lords

“Capable gauntlets. Extremely effective. I have only one piece of advice: never touch a living Vex.”

Skinned in the membranes of the Hezen Vex. There is very little risk they will become permanently attached to your body.

IN addition, have a listen to what happened with Kabr when he went into the vault, the Relic: The aegis card reads,

“These are the last words of Kabr, the Legionless: I have destroyed myself to do this. They have taken my Ghost. They are in my blood and brain. But now there is hope.”

Also listen to the Vault of Glass grimoire card which also describes Kabr it reads,

“You will meet the Templar in a place that is a time before or after stars. The stars will move around you and mark you and sing to you. They will decide if you are real. I drank of them. It tasted like the sea.”

This card indicates that Kabr drank the Vex, which may explain why the Vex were in his blood and brain. Prior to the release of Age of Triumph we did not really understand the impact of being “infected by the vex”, however the new Eris Morn grimoire card provides some increase insight. I am referring to it as an infection because I have no other way of describing what is happening, contact with the Vex seems dangerous and can make a guardian quite unwell as indicated in the Ghost Fragment: Eris Morn card.

In the card, Eris morn is visiting a fellow guardian at a medical facility, the Guardian is non-responsive and does not move from his bed. His arm has been replaced by a Vex construct, the card reads,

“ His Warlock garb had been stripped from his body, and she could see his pale blue chest as it rose and fell in the bed. His arm. His arm was gone. In its place was a thing. The point where mechanicals knit with flesh was ghastly to behold, but the design was unmistakable to any Guardian who’d been in the field:

Asher Mir’s arm was that of a Vex construct. Her eyes flicked to the ghost at the window. It too, was transformed. The unmistakable outline of Vex technology encrusting and penetrating the small warden’s shell. That red, staring eye…”

The interesting thing about this, is even though Guardians have ghosts and can survive huge trauma, they seem very vulnerable to this infection. Remember, it also happened with the SIVA mites prior to rise of iron, when guardians became infected with the SIVA prototype. The impression I get from the Eris morn grimoire card, is that we do not really know how to combat a Vex infection, which is also why I assume that the Vault of Glass drops ornaments that make you look like the Vex, it makes complete sense that if you spend too much time in the vault you will come out missing an arm or leg, replaced by a Vex construct.

Whilst we may not understand the Vex, we may know of someone who has mastered Vex technology without the side effects… the Exo Stranger. Have a listen to the card,

Stories of an Exo who walks in the Darkness without a Ghost have long haunted the Tower. Legends say this anomaly dissolves in and out of the world, intangible and elusive, as if she is a visitor from somewhere beyond.

“Some believe she’s the last of an ancient Exo squadron, fighting a long-forgotten war. Others dismiss her as a hallucination caused by exposure to Vex technology. But there are those who maintain that her intervention saved their lives – or averted unspeakable catastrophes.”

Haven’t you ever notice the Exo Stranger warp in and out of our timeline in the same fashion as the Vex?

That concludes this latest destiny lore episode, if you would like to support the channel and cant think of a comment, leave the phrase, “Exo Vex tech”, so suggest that the Exo stranger has worked out how to incorporate Vex technology without the side effects.